WRITING ABOUT
THE LANDSCAPE
OF SUFFOLK
The county of Suffolk has been an intriguing subject for many writers. ROBERT RYECE,
who lived in the tiny village of PRESTON near Lavenham, wrote his Breviary of Suffolk in
1603: an important work, but not a complete gazetteer.
62
So it was left to JOHN KIRBY of WICKHAM MARKET to write what amounts to the
first real guide to Suffolk, based on a survey he made in 1732-34. He called it The Suffolk
Traveller, and he divided the county into three main parts – the Sandlings, the Woodlands
and the Fielding – broadly speaking equivalent to the east of the county, central Suffolk, and
Breckland of today. Kirby thought Aldeburgh ‘meanly built but very clean’, was struck by
the fact that most of the ‘better houses’ in Ipswich, ‘even in the heart of the town, have
convenient gardens adjoining them’, and described the Orwell as ‘one of the most beautiful
salt rivers in the world’.
63
Introducing the landscape today NORMAN SCARFE’s The Suffolk Landscape examines
the development from ancient settlements to modern towns. He considers the land of the
South Folk, the people who lived, farmed, worked, built and were buried here. Slowly the
countryside grew from a wilderness into the land we see today.
64
Driving round Suffolk you cannot help but notice the lovely spires of its old churches. Suffolk
has 500 medieval churches, 400 of them listed in Domesday Book, and no visit would be
complete without recourse to Suffolk Churches and their Treasures, by H. MUNRO
CAUTLEY (1975–1959), surveyor to the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich. His
love and knowledge of the ancient churches is apparent as he lists and describes all of them
r
i
t
i
n
g

A
b
o
u
t

t
h
e

L
a
n
d
s
c
a
p
e

o
f

S
u
f
f
o
l
k
and includes articles on specific features such as porches, fonts and screens. He was also the
W
architect of the gothic-styled Central Library in Northgate Street IPSWICH. A member of
the congregation of WESTERFIELD CHURCH for sixty years there is a memorial to him
in the chancel. He is buried in the graveyard there.
65
An early compiler of Suffolk customs and folklore was JOHN GLYDE (1823–1905). Born
in IPSWICH he followed his father’s occupation to become a hairdresser with an
establishment at 35 St Matthew’s Street. Later he changed it to bookselling and stationery,
with a circulating library. Interested in the customs and superstitions of his time, he wrote A
Suffolk Garland in 1866. It covers a range of customs such as the use of the Ipswich
ducking stool (now in Christchurch Mansion), dancing on a hog’s trough, and a local cure for
toothache or the ague. He included diverse biographical snippets too, amongst them stories
about John Constable, Thomas Gainsborough and George Crabbe. Glyde was the gossip
columnist of his day and his book is a wonderful lucky dip.
66
15
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28